Christian Marriage and Newlyweds: Part One

By Dave Pipitone

Are you planning your Christian marriage out as a newly wed couple? Love, faith and hope are three special gifts to help you live as lifelong friends. And you can use these three strands of life to weave a lifetime of being connected with God and each other. All you need to do is to remember those gifts are yours and then use them.

More than 25 years ago, on our wedding day, our Christian marriage began. The priest's homily compared our marriage-to-be with a tapestry that we would weave every day. We heard a secret that day, but did not realize it at the time. The secret involves that tapestry and how it was woven. Before you can understand that that secret, you need to review something very basic about how human relationships are woven together.

Many famous thinkers, including Dr. Robert Schuller, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Bob Proctor, Michele Blood, Napoleon Hill, James Earl Ray, and John Assaraf affirm the power of thought. What thoughts you choose will shape how you feel and influence what you do. Any thoughts that are repeated enough times with enough emotion, will profoundly shape our lives. Bible warns the reader that whatever one thinks, that is what he or she will become. Jesus' parables in the Bible admonish his followers to guard their hearts - what they think about and what they care about. Centuries later, scientists who study neuroscience and quantum physics are verifying that truth.

Your Thoughts are a Key
Using advanced research techniques, top scientists and researchers are discovering how thoughts work. When you think a thinking causes electrochemical charges which create neural pathways in the brain. Sophisticated equipment can detect a small trace on certain brain cells that particular thoughts create. Further study has shown that when the same thoughts are repeated over and over, a pattern of recognition is formed in those same brain cells. In other words, a "pathway" is created in our brain so that thoughts can race instantly and become second nature to the thinker. Once the thought pattern is formed, thinking is on auto pilot and habits now guide how we act toward ourselves and other people.

Consider your new marriage. There are many different relationships a newly wed couple will have: between wife and husband, with parents, grandparents, friends, brother and sister. When a newly married husband thinks and repeats happy thoughts, his relationships are wholesome, loving and healthy. When a wife thinks well of her husband, and acts on it, there is harmony in their relationship. When destructive and negative thoughts are chosen and acted upon, strained relationships occur. A Christian marriage can avoid this problem by using the three strands of love, faith and hope.

Negative Thoughts Cause Unhappy Families
Modern day data are revealing: 40-to-50 % of marriages fail; domestic violence is more widespread than earlier generations. Family life is challenged by depression, substance abuse and disrespect. Violent crimes, strife and social worry are in the morning headlines and in the nightly news. But it doesn't have to be that way. By choosing your thoughts carefully, your Christian marriage can be very positive, fulfilling and long-lasting. Read Part Two of this article to learn more.